1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, and more particularly, to a LCD panel capable of simplifying testing and manufacturing methods thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display (LCD) displays images by controlling the light transmittance through a liquid crystal layer by applying an electric field based on received image data signals. The LCD includes an LCD panel in which liquid crystal cells are arrayed in a matrix, and a driving circuit (e.g., disposed in a peripheral area adjacent to the pixel array) for driving the LCD panel based on the received image data signals.
The pixel array of the LCD panel includes a thin film transistor (TFT) substrate (comprising a plurality of TFTs corresponding to the plurality of pixels) and a color filter substrate (e.g., a matrix of Red, Green, Blue filters) that face each other with the liquid crystal material disposed between the two substrates, and a spacer for maintaining a cell gap between the two substrates.
The thin film transistor substrate has gate lines, data lines, thin film transistors TFTs (e.g., used as switches in each of the liquid crystal cells) formed at the intersections of the gate lines and the data lines, pixel electrodes connected to the thin film transistors TFTs, and an alignment film coated upon those elements. The gate lines and data lines receive signals from the (peripheral) driving circuit(s) at their respective pads. The data lines transmit pixel signals to the pixel electrodes (source electrodes of the TFTs) that are apply an electric field to the liquid crystal in response to scan signals (received at the gate of the TFTs) transmitted by the gate lines.
The color filter substrate includes color filters formed over each of liquid crystal cells, a black matrix for separating the color filters from one another and for reflecting external light, a common electrode for supplying a reference (e.g., ground) voltage to all the liquid crystal cells, and an alignment film coated on all those elements.
The thin film transistor substrate and the color filter substrate are separately manufactured and then assembled. A liquid crystal is injected between the two substrates and then the substrates are sealed, thereby forming an LCD.
The thin film transistor TFT substrate is subjected to testing process after manufacture for detecting defects in signal lines (by determining whether the signal lines are shorted or opened) and defects in the thin film transistors TFTs. Shorting bars are connected to the data and scan lines around the periphery of the display and are cut after processing. For this signal testing process, the thin film transistor substrate provides an odd shorting bar and an even shorting bar which separately connect the gate lines and the data lines to odd lines and even lines, respectively. These shorting bars are formed in a non-display (peripheral) region and may be removed by a scribing, grinding, or laser trimming process after the testing process. During this removing process, a pollutant may occur, or signal lines may corrode due to moisture or other contaminants injected through a cut surface, thereby degrading reliability. Therefore, a manufacturing method or testing process capable of omitting the shorting bars and the shorting bar removing process is desirable.
In the conventional LCD, after the testing process if the panel passes, a semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) chip, such as a Driver IC, and/or an IC Package (comprising the IC chip and a plurality of conductive patterns) is physically and electrically attached to the substrate in a predetermined Driver IC package region in the non-display (peripheral) region of one of the substrates. The shorting bars etc. are formed outside of the predetermined Driver IC package region, e.g., in another part of the non-display (peripheral) region. After the testing process, if the LCD panel is judged to be of good quality, a driver IC is fixed in the Driver IC package region in the peripheral region.